Motor Authority - blog Tag: scooter

In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city motoring. The goal of Project i was never to exclusively develop one type of vehicle or another, but to come up with a range of technologies BMW could introduce across its fleet or even under a rumored fourth brand.

Now, more than 18 months down the track, Project i is in full swing and is already spawning its first products. The first development of Project i was the all-electric Mini-E, which BMW is using to gather feedback about what...

In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city motoring. The goal of Project i was never to exclusively develop one type of vehicle or another, but to come up with a range of technologies BMW could introduce across its fleet or even under a rumored fourth brand. Now, more than 18 months down the track, Project i is in full swing and is already spawning its first products. The first development of Project i was the all-electric Mini-E, which BMW is using to gather feedback about what urban customers want and need from a zero-emissions vehicle. Back in March of this year, German media were reporting that BMW’s Project i family would also include a successor to the C1 scooter. Today, a concept of this successor has been revealed in the form of the new 2009 BMW C1-E Study. The C1-E is BMW’s vision of what a safe, environmentally-friendly and highly practical single track vehicle for city traffic could look like in the future. BMW Motorrad (BMW’s motorbike division) developed the C1-E study as a contribution to the European safety project eSUM. This study unit is based on the original BMW C1. It’s characterised by a very high level of active and passive safety and is driven by an electric motor. The electric motor employed in the study runs on lithium-ion batteries and has been designed for city use and is based on components by the company Vectrix. Alternatively the vehicle could also be equipped with an efficient, low-emissions internal combustion engine. Safety features include a safety cell, roll-over bar and a seat-belt. The C1-E will remain a concept for now as there are no plans for production. eSUM stands for European Safer Urban Motorcycling. It’s a cooperation project between major urban European motorcycling centers and manufacturers. The cities currently involved in the project include Paris, Rome, Barcelona and London and the manufacturers are BMW and Piaggio. Read More

Three-wheeled vehicles, especially scooter-like vehicles, have become rather popular in recent years, with a plethora of companies turning out examples, including Piaggio, Brudeli and Peugeot. Now AutoMoto has tossed its hat into the ring with a unique twist: a three-wheeler that leans.

Not the first by any means, nor likely to be the last, the AutoMoto tilts much like the Carver One. In fact, aside from its open sides and more upright layout, the AutoMoto shares a great deal with the Carver, including its one-two front-rear wheel layout. Many other three-wheelers put two wheels up front and one in the rear.

The company promises 83mpg in... Three-wheeled vehicles, especially scooter-like vehicles, have become rather popular in recent years, with a plethora of companies turning out examples, including Piaggio, Brudeli and Peugeot. Now AutoMoto has tossed its hat into the ring with a unique twist: a three-wheeler that leans. Not the first by any means, nor likely to be the last, the AutoMoto tilts much like the Carver One. In fact, aside from its open sides and more upright layout, the AutoMoto shares a great deal with the Carver, including its one-two front-rear wheel layout. Many other three-wheelers put two wheels up front and one in the rear. The company promises 83mpg in typical conditions from the 150cc engine and CVT transmission, and priced at $3,800 it fits the bill in terms of overall cost as well. The rather small 2.1 gallon fuel tank limits range to just 160mi (255km), however. The AutoMoto's intended niche is high-efficiency commuting for its native market of Californians, possibly explaining the rather loose interpretation of 'all-weather' applied to its open-sided cabin. The vehicle can hold two, seated in a tandem motorcycle configuration, and also has as lockable cargo storage area plus speakers and MP3 compatibility. Because of its unique layout and structure, many American states don't require a motorcycle license or a helmet to drive the AutoMoto, opening up a wide potential market. Fans of the three-wheeled scooter or motorcycle will recall Honda's Gyro, which has been on the market for over 25 years, and features a similar canopy in addition to a leaning body and one-up-front, two-in-back wheel layout. The AutoMoto three-wheeler is expected to go on sale in the early part of this year.AutoMoto three-wheeled tilting scooter Read More

Combining elements of both a scooter and a car, the HYmotion3 Compressor is the latest concept to come out of Peugeot. Featuring the carmaker’s new 'HYmotion' hybrid technology, the result is a three-wheel-drive vehicle that features an electric motor in each of its two front wheels and a petrol engine in the rear.

While Peugeot is calling the HYmotion3 compressor a scooter, the concept was created in conjunction with teams from both Peugeot’s motorbike and car divisions and has resulted in a strange amalgamation of both scooter and car-like features.

Its design is based on a three wheel platform for maximum stability, and... Combining elements of both a scooter and a car, the HYmotion3 Compressor is the latest concept to come out of Peugeot. Featuring the carmaker’s new 'HYmotion' hybrid technology, the result is a three-wheel-drive vehicle that features an electric motor in each of its two front wheels and a petrol engine in the rear. While Peugeot is calling the HYmotion3 compressor a scooter, the concept was created in conjunction with teams from both Peugeot’s motorbike and car divisions and has resulted in a strange amalgamation of both scooter and car-like features. Its design is based on a three wheel platform for maximum stability, and driveability, while its width of 82cm enables it to thread a path through urban traffic with all the efficiency of a two-wheeler. The front windscreen extends to the rear of the vehicle to form a shield against bad weather for the rider and passenger, while two polished aluminium roll-over bars support the "bubble" which protects the two occupants. To preserve the vehicle's clean lines, there are no rear-view mirrors as this function is carried out by two display screens on the instrument panel offering optimal rear vision. Finally, the vehicle incorporates Peugeot's HYmotion technology, also featured on other concept-cars such as the new RC HYmotion4 and Prologue. This new generation hybrid technology combines the 20hp (15kW) supercharged petrol engine already featured in the Peugeot Satelis scooter with two electric motors, each with an output of 5hp (3kW), located in the front wheels. This configuration develops a maximum power of 29hp (21kW) for a particularly low fuel consumption rating of 117mpg (2.0L/100km) and CO2 emissions of 47g/km in the combined cycle. The vehicle can also be driven with electric power alone for short distances.2008 Peugeot HYmotion3 concept at Paris Motor Show Read More